40 postgraduates among 16,000 interviewed for 21 posts of peon

Holding an MBA degree in his hands, Satish of Bilaspur in Himachal Pradesh lined up for an interview for the post of peon at the district courts in Sector 43 here on Thursday. Beside him stood Vijay, a resident of Sector 33, who holds a BCom degree.

Term it craze for government job owing to job security or sorry state of growing unemployment among educated youth, which made 16,000 people turn up for the interview for 21 posts of peon.

Trying their luck for the job, about 40 postgraduates in various streams had turned up for appointment of a peon, who would be earning a salary of Rs 6,200 per month. The qualification required for candidates is that he or she should be at least Class 8 pass and should be able converse, read and write in Hindi and Punjabi.

The candidates who turned up were holding MBA degree, post-graduate diploma in computer application, BEd, BCA and BCom. These candidates are over qualified for the post, but growing unemployment among skilled youth forced them to apply for the job.

“It is a government job which offers you more security, apart from assured regular income. It is better than sitting idle,” said a resident of Dadumajra, who has cleared BSc (IT).

“After completing BEd all I was forced to take a private job which pays you peanuts. So getting a government job with much higher scale is what made me apply for this job,” said a resident from Pathankot in Punjab, who is BEd.

Questions on culinary skills leave many baffled

Interviewers questioning the applicants about their culinary, driving skills, apart from having knowledge of doing household chores, left them surprised and shocked.

“The question like whether I know how to cook was a bit out of place, as this does not fit in my job profile,” said an applicant hailing from Ferozepur.

“The questions like do you know how to drive or fix an electric appliance giving trouble came as a surprise,” said applicants hailing from Hisar.